jdeluke137 - Posted - 11/20/2011:  19:08:26

After the first of the year I'm gong to upgrade from an Epiphone MB-200 to an American made banjo.  I'm looking to buy something for about $2000 +/-, which seems to be then entry point for something American made.  I'm not much on purchasing used - I like to put my own dings in stuff.

Right now I'm looking at either a Deering Sierra or a Bishline Cimmaron.  Would y'all please share your opinions as to which is the better instrument for the money?

robbie93 - Posted - 11/20/2011:  19:35:55

I have never played a Bishline but I have owned a Sierra Mahogany for over a year now and it has been amazing. I play it every day and it rarely goes out of tune and has only needed a few minor adjustments. It is a very well built banjo and I highly recommend it to anyone. 

dmiller - Posted - 11/20/2011:  19:57:01

I don't think you could go wrong with either of them!  

piscesgrrl - Posted - 11/20/2011:  19:59:44

I almost bought a Deering Sierra...then I picked up a Bishline. I was hooked. My Bishline came on Monday and it is amazing. I brought it to my the jam today so some experienced players could check it out. They were very impressed! On top of that, Rob and the crew are really good people.

livluvgrow - Posted - 11/20/2011:  20:20:17

I received my Cimarron on tuesday and and have literally probably played it 30 hours. I cant seem to set it down. The playability is wonderful up and down the neck which is remarkable since I couldn't manage to go up the neck much on my epiphone but with the bishline it is just so much easier that I am now beginning to explore waters that up till this point I couldn't seem to manage.

banjomule - Posted - 11/20/2011:  20:25:44

I owned a mahogany Deering Sierra for about a year and a half. I really liked it, but I wanted a maple banjo to compliment it and had Rob and his crew build me a custom. After about 6 months of owning the Bishline, I wasn't playing the Sierra at all any more so I sold it.

I personally like a bright banjo, and the maple Bishline offered me that. The Cimmeron is walnut, and I have not played a walnut Bishline. I love my walnut Stelling though. The Sierra can also be had in maple now, or with an archtop ring, so you have alot of options if you go that way. All i've played is the standard flathead mahogany Sierra so I cant comment on the other options.

I would do some searching on youtube and see what you can come up with. I would think the Cimmeron and Sierra would sound pretty different. Not to muddy the waters any further, but you might also consider checking in to the affordable series by American Made Banjos. I've never played one, but it's another sub-2k professional level banjo made my an American company with a great reputation

MoeBanjo - Posted - 11/21/2011:  02:45:40

Edited by - MoeBanjo on 11/21/2011 02:46:51

MrNatch3L - Posted - 11/22/2011:  04:09:28

Tough choice. Both are fine instruments, both makers are good to deal with.

With the right setup, you should get an excellent sound from either one. Ideally you should try to play both and see which one feels better to you. May not be feasible, I realize. But really, you'd get accustomed to whichever one you go with, so if you're buying sight unseen it may be just a matter of which cosmetics like like more.

I myself have a Bishline which I like a lot. I bought it direct, sight unseen. In my case, the banjo I was upgrading from was such that I figured any American banjo I'd buy in my price range would be sooo much better I couldn't possibly be unhappy with it. I was right.

Whatever you get, learn the basics of setup adjustment. I had to because there's nobody doing it where I live - I may now be the top setup guy in the whole country - which ain't saying much - I know just enough to be dangerous! The sound I'm getting now is quite different from what it was when I got the banjo. I didn't really know what I wanted then, so had just Rob to his "generic" setup, which was definitely good, and a good starting point.

Good luck!

jdeluke137 - Posted - 11/22/2011:  04:25:01

Thank you, everyone, for your insights.

I'm blessed, since I live in the Atlanta area, and can go by Banjo.Com and see and play both the Bishline and Sierra. AND they'll do the setup. Based on the comments, I just need to decide which one I like and go for it - either one will be a vast improvement over my Epiphone MB-200!

dustinTN - Posted - 11/22/2011:  06:03:02

Either one of those is a fine banjo.  I'm personally partial to the Bishline just for the sake of aesthetics and getting something from a smaller shop.  I played some Bishlines for the first time a couple of weeks ago and was highly impressed.  I think the Cimarron is especially cool looking, too.  That said, Deering makes a fine instrument and has for a long time.  I envy your position.